Scorched Earth
by JPV
Summary: The hundred arrive on earth under very different circumstances that grant them a greater chance at survival but also create a whole mess of new problems to face. With more drastic options often comes more drastic measures, now Clarke and Bellamy have a lot more to juggle in this mad game of survival and gambling on sanity. M for violence and other grown up Bellarke themes
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: Gory

I

When first the Brunette's eyes opened she was blinded by a field of light. The second time they spattered open she could slightly make out a blurred tile roof. On the third attempt the haze was gone and she could gaze up at the white ceiling that she surveyed through a glass plane only moments before the tiles crumpled and slipped in on themselves as the roof was torn open and her's along with many other capsules in the room were sucked out into the void of space.

Elsewhere a blonde woman goes through a very similar awakening process but when her eyes settle, the ceiling doesn't breach, the terrifying roar of oxygen being sucked from their habitat doesn't burst eardrums, and she doesn't die screaming... Yet. Instead the capsule opens with a long hiss as the woman is removed from stasis and awakens in a room full of other groggy humans in very similar confused and tired looking states. All were dressed in very simple undergarments that made them look like the cast of an undershirt add. As the capsules swung open and freed the last of the occupants the mulling about residents, ranging from children to elderly, glanced about one another questioningly. None panicked quite yet but many asked around questions like 'who woke us up' and 'where are the doctors' but most popular seemed to be 'are we here?'

"Alright people, um" the blonde bit her lip, unsure of what to do next. She herself had training as a doctor but she wasn't part of the ship's crew. She had no answers for these people but she knew someone had to start getting some or there'd be panic. "Ok, well, I'm a doctor actually and... Uh..." The blonde cursed herself inwardly. Public speaking was never her thing and it certainly wasn't easy now as she stood before a crowd of frightened people expecting help or answers. She swallowed hard in hopes the lump in her throat would be forced down plenty far enough. "First things first, I need to make sure you're all ok to be moving around. A basic physical will help us see if any of you have any symptoms of problematic stasis. This will be very quick and very easy if we can all just remain calm and form an orderly line." There were a few murmurs of peer discussion among the crowd but slowly they congregated into a relatively neat line save for a few with backgrounds in medicine that approached the doctor to lend aid.

The process of examining all the room's inhabitants really did go quick as the doctor said which proved to have been a great problem. With her one stalling tactic spent now the doctor would have to address the group's real need, answers. Gradually the crowd began to grow rowdy as slight panic set in when they realized the doors that should slide open on approach remained sealed. The doctor herself began to feel claustrophobic as the sea of bodies swam from wall to wall as the people saw a need to test both malfunctioning doors for themselves. A once organized line devolved rather quickly into a panic stricken mob as each person's mind drove their imagination to assume the worst possible explanations. The doctor shouted out pleas for calm as people darted about the room in search of an exit until a large man slammed through her, driving the blonde to the ground. He didn't see her nor would he have cared to anyway and instead of checking on the woman he rushed on towards a capsule he could stand on so he could try and pry open a ceiling panel. The doctor hit the ground head first and for a moment was deafened by a shrill ringing in her own mind as her brain tried to make sense of the direct impacts it was feeling. For a moment the doctor just laid there on the floor and stared at the white ceiling above letting the concussive silence lull her into comfort. Only when the people grew still and casted their gaze towards one of the doors did the woman decide to sit up and catch up with the crowd. A small fire hissed through the crack in the door as it slowly made its way from ceiling to floor tracing it's way along the crevice between the two pieces of metal. The blonde scuttled to her feet and approached the front of the group in anticipation of what was next. Every soul in the room looked into the flame in heart pounding silence, not a one even moved as the fire danced down its trail save for a few mothers who slid children behind them in case something less than kind came through. The doctor felt her own heart stop as the wick kissed the floor and blinked itself out. From just beyond the doors a few voices could just barely be heard before the door began to hiss and gauntleted fingers slid through the cracks to pry open the metal by force. The gap grew larger and larger until the crowd laid eyes upon a few unfamiliar beings clad in black T Shirts and grey fatigues through the space made in the door. Finally one of the men in the fatigues called out from beyond the view of the crowd 'that's enough' and slid in through the space he and his comrade made.

"Y'all could have helped." Muttered the man with light brown hair and a bird beak nose that stepped through the gap while shaking out the strain on his hands. "Ok people if you would so kindly head down this corridor in a neat and organized fashion we will get you to your clothes and to any family members not here with you." The man before them slouched a bit haphazardly with his hands in his pockets but the air of danger he had about him made the simple minded mob want to follow him, but the doctor still had questions. As the others obeyed and ducked through the doorway before hurrying down the corridor at the lead of the guards the blonde slid in beside the man who entered the room while he guided people out.

"Where are we going?" The woman asked as she too helped people slide through the narrow passage the guards made in the door. The man who stepped in spoke low to ensure only the doctor heard him.

"The hangar." He said resolutely.

"Why there?"

With a slight smile the man looked down at the woman and said "Oh, well, we're crashing."

II

Clarke Griffin never had to sit in a military dropship chair before. She never felt the heavy restraints squeeze her frame as a hulking warrior clad in tan armor tugged down on the clasps so the harness would bind her to her seat. She never felt a gauntleted hand tap her head as a voice yelled to her through a visor over the roar of an engine that she should 'loosen up or bite off her tongue'. No, the studied doctor and closet painter never experienced any of these things before, and she certainly had never been on a crashing space ship before. In the monumental hangar dozens of drop ships of varying sizes purred as they prepped to escape their doomed mother. A few guards with varying equipment hurried mobs of near naked civilians from the hallways and strapped them into any number of awaiting carriers. From her seat in one of the smaller ships Clarke could watch as a seemingly unending tide of civilians spewed from the mouth of the hallway and into the crowded hangar. Families clung to one another as their heads swiveled about trying to make sense of the direction they were being given by the shouting guards through booming megaphones. Those directing the mobs stood atop mounds of crates and pointed out people milling about for guards to recover and move into a standing by ship. One of the women lead into Clarke's ship wailed about 'her baby, her baby' as another guard wearing tan fatigues strapped her into her harness. The mother's face was sunken and full of dread as the guard slipped out of the ship to grab more civilians, ignoring her pleas of 'my baby, my baby'. The doctor felt her empty stomach churn as fear ripped through her alongside the revelation that this truly was happening and she wasn't just stuck in a horrid nightmare. Clarke looked down and dug her nails into her belly to calm the stirring nerves inside. She begged herself inwardly to calm down as soon her legs began to tremble and bind together. The blonde shut her eyes tight and and began muttering a prayer of protection, more so to block out the woman's wailing than anything, When a loud noise and sudden heat ripped her attention up. Screams and shouts from all over the nearby area threatened to overwhelm the noise of roaring flames that came from down one of the corridors that until a moment ago civilians were coming through. Clarke snapped her head around trying to see what was going on when more and more distant explosions became all too common. A new guard, this one wearing a black shirt and grey fatigues like the group before, ran into the dropship holding the hand of a small child wearing an oversized black helmet that covered his whole head. The new guard took a seat in the only chair facing down the row of civilians and pulled the child into his lap before fastening the restraints around both of them. The guard tugged on a few cords to get the brace as tight as possible before tapping the child's helmet and holding up a thumb until the boy responded in the very same way.

The guard rapped his knuckles against the wall behind his seat then turned and called into the cockpit "We're all full up!" The pilot turned back and gave the guard a thumbs up before flipping a few switches and barking out something over his headset.

Clarke's breathing grew rapid as she glanced out a window beside her head to watch the last of the ships get filled. With only one eye she watched as a small family got loaded onto a craft and after a short pause a guard came jogging out alone. The lone man waved into the craft and helped seal the door before wandering off out of Clarke's view. As far as she could tell he was the only one not on a ship as the massive hangar doors began to grown open and everything not tied down inside got ripped out into space.

To say the launch from the hangar was terrifyingly turbulent would be a horrid understatement. The blonde felt her organs literally vibrate within her as the dropship that carried her and roughly ninety others burned out of the hangar and into what had apparently been a small comet storm that tore apart the massive station. A handful of smaller crafts zipped from the mouth of the great ship and dozens were blown to bits as hunks of debris or comet shrapnel tore them apart. Perhaps most horrifying were those ships that were pelted by barely visible small shards of debris that didn't cause catastrophic damage but instead left them derelict and still as all inside were shredded. The pilot of Clarke's own craft fought the controls to force the long bodied ship into miracle maneuvers that narrowly missed passing death. She could hear warning alarms buzz and screech as the ship was pushed beyond its intended limit to avoid a comet hunk the size of a shopping mall which cut short the dreams of four other escapecraft.

"He was just a rookie trooper and he surely shook with fright" the guard with the child sang from his seat at the center. Civilians and guards in tan looked to him with terror and confusion as the man began to sing but the three other guards in black smiled and joined along. "He checked all his equipment and made sure his pack was tight" the guards in black began to tap their feet and pound their chests to the beat while rousing their neighbors with nudges and gestures of encouragement. "He had to sit and listen to those awful engines roar," a few worried voices joined the eccentric guards and soon even Clarke noticed her own lips start to mime the lyrics as the ship lurched around a hunk of debris that missed their wing by half a meter. "You ain't gonna jump no more! Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die," as she sang louder and louder Clarke's stomach began to unknot and her heart slightly calmed. "Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die," soon everyone was singing along as best they could as the pilot gritted his teeth and jerked the stick up to climb over an entire section of the mothership that had been torn off by the comets. "Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die, He ain't gonna jump no more!" Again and again they sang this song even while the entire ship rattled and roared as it made entry to a nearby planet's atmosphere that threatened to tear the falling tincan to shreds. Clarke felt her bones rattle as she dug her nails into the seat's handgrips with song on her lips and prayer on her mind until she felt her organs fly. Her stomach and her body followed soon as entry velocity became crashing velocity, which promptly turned into skidding velocity, and finally came to... Stopping.

"Well damn... It worked." The guard at the center tossed another guard in black a silver coin with a grin as he unlatched himself, still singing under his breath.

III

"The Ark is dying... Plain and simple. No longer can we deny that." If only it were 'plain and simple' four years ago when you floated my dad. Clarke scoffed with her arms crossed as she took another long gulp from a shaking cup of coffee in her hands. In the corner of the medical-bay break room was an old beat up monitor broadcasting Chancellor Jaha's latest public address to the people of the ark.

"Life support is... Failing... Our food production is... Inadequate. Sustainability of our current way of life is... Impossible." Every beat felt like a punch to the gut for all aboard the ark except for the almost-rebel Clarke whom was just waiting for the day this address came.

"It would seem that our end is nigh however; brothers and sisters of the Ark I have a plan. I have gathered the greatest minds aboard the ark and they have assured me that this plan can work. More importantly that it will save lives." Clarke was actually enraptured in the Chancellor's speech but her attention was forcefully ripped away when a nurse called her name from the break room doorway.

"Doctor Griffin! There's a guard here in need of your assistance." The young nurse called to an already acting Clarke. The cup of coffee barely settled on the counter before the blonde was out of the room and down the corridor heading to the emergency center.

"What can I expect Myles?" Clarke asked while mentally pushing out everything except the task she was about to undertake.

"The guard has a pretty deep gash on his back that'll need stitches and his elbow needs to be looked at." Myles rattled off while bending back fingers to keep count of the things he needed to tell Clarke.

"Alright, then sounds simple enough." When the blonde drew back the curtains surrounding the hospital bed of her newest patient she caught sight a beautiful black stenciled portrait of an eagle clutching lightning and flanked by wreaths on a tan canvas highlighted by a puckering rip seeping red.

All she could manage was a hushed 'woah' as Clarke admired the art adorning the guards naked back. For a moment she calmly mouthed the words she couldn't understand that were written on the banner beneath the eagle.

"Protigo Maxime Interest Tueri." She almost hummed.

"It means protect what matters most' the guard called from over his shoulder. 'And if you're not too busy I'm kind of losing blood here."

"Oh! Yes, sorry!' Clarke exclaimed when she returned to reality and started working on the guard. 'It really is a beautiful piece though the artist must have a real passion."

"She does' the guard chuckles a bit but is cut off when Clarke forces him still. 'Tattoos are the only thing I've managed to get her to focus on for longer than a week."

"Hopefully this doesn't scar too bad and ruin such a beautiful piece of work then."

"Are you still talking about the tattoo or about me?" The guard asked, a smirk drawing across his lips as he turned to look over his shoulder only to have his head forcefully turned forward by the Doctor. Despite the slight red tinge to her cheeks and her annoyed time Clarke couldn't help but laugh just a bit at the guard's attitude despite the open wound on his back.

"Oh you really are a piece of work... Um... Mister~"

"Lieutenant, actually Lieutenant Bellamy Blake."

"Lieutenant Blake."

"And you are?"

"Doctor Clarke Griffin."

"Nice to meet you Clarke."

The two shared idle conversations for a time going back and forth until Bellamy was all stitched up and cleared to leave the E.R.

"What do you think of that?" Bellamy nodded to the squawking tv in the corner or the medical center lobby as he tugged on his grey guard coat. On the screen Jaha was finishing up his speech to the people and announcing his plan to sever a section of the ark full of volunteers and prepare a landing colony to return to earth after inspections are made of the planet surface to gauge its habitability.

"I don't know what to think of it.' Clarke answered dryly with her arms crossed. 'It's hope I suppose." She shrugged.

"Hope aye? I guess that matters." The guard muttered his response before marching away from the now lone Doctor and back into the Ark's dark hallway.

Clarke didn't see the guard in person again but that meant little to her in the coming weeks. Jaha asked for volunteers from all over the Ark but encouraged the involvement of many that he assumed a first wave colony and scouting party would need and that put her and/or her mother right in his crosshairs. Either the tried and proven head surgeon or her young prodigy of a daughter would have to be sent on this undertaking in order to better the chances of the scouting party's survival. In the end it would be decided that Clarke would undergo this journey along with several hundred other volunteers from every walk of life aboard the Ark. When the time came to be sent off Clarke and the civilian personnel were placed in stasis in order to conserve resources while the newly dubbed 'ranger division' of the guard examined Earth's surface. The plan was working well until a freak meteor shower passed through Earth's atmosphere and right through the section of the Ark, shredding it to bits.

On earth's surface the show was beautiful up in the sky. Colors danced and popped sending streams of burning light all over the great black canopy. The grounders had no idea what they were seeing but most took it as a sign of great things to come while others took it as a sign of great hardships and war.

IV

The guard handed the child off to the woman who was screaming for her own earlier before heading outside of the crashed ship to take in his surroundings. The cool morning air kissed his cheeks and a lingering scent of pine pricked at his nostrils. Beneath his boots the guard felt a thin layer of dirt and soil sucking at his feet while tiny critters scurried away from the trench caused by his ship upon entry. Tall trees came together to provide a thick canopy that allowed only a few rays of light to breach their guard and touch the cold forest floor. Though none seemed to be nearby the guard could hear the familiar noises of various fauna going about their lives ordinarily or sprinting as far away from the foreign object from the sky as quickly as they could. With a sigh the guard turned and waved a hand at the gathered crowd in the craft.

"Come on out everyone the coast is clear, but don't wander too far. We have no clue where we are." With that the man in grey sauntered off a short ways and started examining his surroundings.

Inside the craft Clarke was still too shocked by the sounds and smells around her to even bother unhooking herself from her seat as she had so badly wanted to do earlier. It wasn't until a thin olive skinned brunette trudged out of the cockpit and groaned in pain did Clarke snap out of her daze.

"Well not bad for my first nonsimulated flight, aye Wick?" The pilot called behind her to a blonde man vomiting onto the floor of the dropship with a thumb up.

"That was amazing." Clarke gasped while getting up from her seat and putting an arm around the pilot to help the woman walk out of the craft.

"Thanks... Uh."

"Clarke."

"Thanks Clarke, name's Raven nice to meet you." The pilot extended a hand to the doctor and the two smiled as a bond formed between them until they noticed the slight crimson trail forming down Raven's leg.

"Your leg doesn't look so good Raven but you're in luck." Clarke said while picking up speed in carrying out Raven.

"Oh yeah? How's that?" Raven groaned with sarcastic amounts of optimism on her voice.

"You crashed a ship with a Doctor.

Outside the crash the few guards in tan and rangers in grey started help gather and assess civilians however they could to see just how bad off they were. The de facto leader John Murphy seemed to be paying extra close attention to one girl in particular with olive skin and darker hair who barreled out of the craft exclaiming 'we're back bitches!' At the top of her lungs. The look in his face definitely didn't convey feelings for the girl but instead hinted at something more like begrudged responsibility.

"Alright people for now we make this crash site our home until we can figure out where the hell we are and what our next move is. So, get comfortable and don't wander too far." John's orders didn't come across so much like orders as strongly worded suggestions alongside the threat of violence but the people complied nonetheless.

Night began to fall as Clarke put the finishing put the finishing touches on Raven's leg dressings and scavenged brace. Now the two women sat beside one another exchanging stories of their old lives on the ark and their hopes for the future.

"I bet you with the right tools I can make you a real brace for that leg Raven." Wick pointed at the crudely put together serious of sticks and bindings before starting doodles in the dirt beneath him of his plans.

"Hey! I think I did a pretty good job all things considered!" Clarke barked with a raised hand a playful slap in Wick's arm, messing up his drawings which drew out a hurt gasp from Wick and a loud bout of laughter from Raven.

"Shut up!" Murphy called back into the drop ship at the laughing group, his face painted with seriousness and his rifle sliding to his shoulder. The other guards and Rangers around mimicked John's movements and fanned out to sufficiently cover their area. Murphy scanned the surrounding tree line when he picked out a steady sign of movement coming through the tall surrounding grass. Slowly the ranger raised his rifle until his sight was trained in the moving silhouette in the foliage. Everyone in the dropship held their breath as time began to slow and the creature in the night drew closer and closer until suddenly, he was there.

Murphy sighed out a breathe he didn't know he was holding as he gave the order to relax to his men. With a good bit of pep in his step Murphy marched out of the craft and clasped hands with the tall dark stranger with curly brown hair.

"Fuck, am I glad to see you man." John chuckled and squeezed Bellamy's hand.

"Likewise Murph... Is-" as if right on cue Octavia Blake peaked out of the crashed dropship.

"Bellamy?" She asked the air with disbelief. The older Blake was speechless at first when he saw his sister but Murphy grinned and muttered 'turns out I'm actually a pretty good babysitter.'

Octavia Blake sprinted from the dropship and threw herself into her big brother's arms letting loose sobs of joy and relief as she was finally able to see him again after he was sent to Earth to judge its survivability three months back and she was left in the care of John Murphy, her brother's longtime friend.

"I can't believe it's you Bell. Thank God, or whatever, it's really you." Octavia squeezed her brother whom held her back carefully for a moment longer before stepping from her grasp and moving to address the survivors.

"My name is Captain Bellamy Blake of the Ark's Second Ranger Division and until we link up with the Ark you will obey me as though I was your chancellor. Welcome to Earth."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Monsters

"My five rangers, twenty four guards, forty civies from factory, two from alpha, two more than necessary, thirty two from agro, and three from mecha including our gimp pilot.' John Murphy read off the list of crash survivors with a face of disappointment and disdain. Having dragged the roughly one hundred strong group through the woods to Bellamy's camp proved just how difficult the times ahead would be. Already there had been several injuries and more than a few were constantly moaning about needing food or water. The children couldn't be blamed for their weakness but Murphy was more than comfortable hating the 'waste of oxygen' adults. 'If I'm gonna be honest with you Bell, I'd say we're floated."

Bellamy ran a hand through his unkempt curly hair and let out a hoarse sigh. The time he had spent on earth was all about gathering enough Intel to send to the Ark to better prepare the population for resettlement but his camp was never meant to be a permanent settlement, a glorified scout post Maybe, but home to over a hundred people? No way.

A gentle burn on his back reminded the Blake brother what he had really come down to earth for and why he couldn't just succumb and give up.

"Alright, I'd rather more Rangers, hell I'd even take more guards, but what we've got is what we've got so let's get it done ladies and gentlemen.' Bellamy rose to his full height at the head of a table flanked by a few other men wearing similar clothing as him in their dingy olive green tent. 'Murphy!' John began to grin as his commander launched into action 'you and your boys bring in a rep from each station that knows their people best. I need to know the tools I have before I can properly use them.' The brown haired man nodded his response before trotting out of the tent. 'Miller take charge of the guards and start work on securing a close perimeter as well as gathering any and all wounded to the center of the camp, any of them give you shit remind them Ranger's have command authority on the ground and dissension won't be tolerated." Bellamy growled the last bit while clutching his sidearm.

"Yes sir!" Miller barked before running out of the tent.

"As for the rest of you' Bellamy glanced around his table at the remaining five Rangers under his command and assessed them mentally. The seven of them, including he and Miller, had been on earth for around six months now resisting both the environment as well as monstrous animals and feral grounders. When he was told his original unit of eighteen was going to be divided into groups of six and deployed in waves he was disappointed but sure that the hand-picked group of six that would make up his personal team could handle being first wave. Now; however with his sister on the line the young man only wished he had a few more for the meat grinder. 'Atom, Harper, Monroe, and Sterling get us a long range patrol. I want to know if anything is coming our way before _it_ even knows.' A small chorus of yes sirs echo in the tent before the group march off to get their job done.

"And what of me Bossco?" Bellamy's bear of a medic asked from the corner of the room.

"We've got a lot of wounded that need your help out there.' Bellamy gave the bearded Russian descendent a nod towards the tent exit. Just before the bear left the space Bellamy called to him one more time. 'And Vladimir, don't use any of the good stuff. We save that for our own, get me?"

"Yes Bossco. This, I can do." Vladimir said with a shrug before leaving the tent.

Left alone Bellamy's knuckles began to turn white as he gazed down at his map marred by various lines and drawings of updates to what the terrain now looked like and with a few spots crossed off or circled. His brown eyes zipped around the map as he dug through his brain for ideas and plans that all seemed inadequate when compared to how real life works. With a defeated sigh the commander of men pulled the cap off a marker and circled a point in the forest previously marked by an X.

"Deos fortioribus adesse."

II

To say Clarke was busy was an understatement. Not only did she have Raven to treat but she now also had a plethora of scrapes, bruises, bumps, gashes, broken bones, tweaked nerves, and various other issues that the hundred or so survivors of the crash were now coming to her for. The small batch of tents in a circle provided little for her and her many patients. On the ark at the very least she had beds but here all she could do was lay people on the cold hard ground and swat away bugs that flew near wounds. The blonde was very thankful however for the gentle giant that was produced by the larger tent and floated through the crowd of injured to lend aid where he could. His knowledge of the area and satchel full of herbs and medicine was a blessing for the struggling Doctor as well as her patients.

"Jesus, I didn't know people came in his size." Raven mumbled as Vladimir knelt beside a small family and even still towered over them.

"I'm more concerned about what's going on over there." Clarke said with a nod toward Murphy at the back of the camp, his head on a swivel as he surveyed the gathered arkers and mumbled to himself every so often.

"What do you think he's doing?" Wick asked while sifting through a duffel full of tools he managed to scavenge from the crash.

"No clue, that's why it worries me." Clarke added while wiping her brow of sweat and leaving a slight blood streak over her porcelain skin.

The trio stuck together as Clarke worked her rounds which brought them to the company of a few others that wanted to make themselves helpful. A duo of young men named Monty and jasper offered up their help in tracking down medicinal herbs they knew could help from their studies on agro station. The strange brunette that clung to that curly haired Ranger said her name was Octavia and offered her amateur help with simpler tasks like dressing wounds soothing children whose parents didn't make it to the ship or were rendered unconscious by the crash. A young man named Finn came and helped Clarke with any task she had giving her flirtatious glances and sweet words here and there until they met back up with Raven and it was revealed the two were a couple long before the ark's plan to scout out earth. Clarke even came across her longtime friend and confidant Wells amongst the survivors who were lobbying for answers from the over watching guards and Ranger. When the two reunited a few tears and a heartfelt hug was shared before Clarke's relief for having someone she knew around was overshadowed by her vendetta against the son of the chancellor for what happened to her father those years ago. The two split a bit too soon for Wells' liking but he let it be before going back to making demands of John and some guardsmen.

"Alright I've seen enough.' Murphy muttered before climbing onto a lot to get to an elevated position. 'Alright, alright, alright settle down. We're going to work all this out but first I need the people I point out to start headed towards that tent in the back, got it? Alright then. You, you, you over there in the back..." Murphy went on pointing out various people from the crowd to assemble at the tent whom he dubbed 'leaders' among the civilians. Those chosen included Clarke, Raven, Wells, an older woman named Hannah Green, and a few others who weren't part of the mob and instead were busy tending to people however they could.

III

Gathered in Bellamy's tent the confused chosen filled in around the table covered by a large map and a few canteens. Clarke glanced around the Spartan surroundings and took in the habitat that these Rangers had been living in. The tent itself had only a folding table, a lantern, and a long sleeping bag on the floor. In her mind the Doctor hoped and prayed her patients wouldn't be subject to such living for long. Sure, they were on a feral and dead world but the Rangers had been there for months they had to have made some progress in making a settlement, right? The others in the group began chattering loudly between each other and shooting off volleys of questions at the man across the tent who stayed stoic and silent for a good minute, allowing them to unload. Their voices were merely white noise that mixed with the sound of Bellamy's knuckles wrapping against the table to the rhythm of turruck, turruck, turruck before finally he slapped his palms down loudly thus muting the room.

"I will answer all your questions momentarily but first allow me to be blunt. Earth is not nice, it's not easy, it's not the ark, and it's not dead.' Bellamy let the last bit hang in the air while he watched the citizens glance between one another in confusion. When he felt they were sufficiently on their toes he went on. 'These markings' big olive skinned fingers touched the map where Xs were drawn. Are potential campsites where people already live.' A few gasps rang out but this time Bellamy did not wait. 'We call them grounders. They're humans who have survived this long through savagery and brutality and not easily negotiated with. The idea before things went south for you guys in space was to land on these spots. 'Bellamy pointed out the circles. 'From them we would build small city-state esc encampments and work towards building relationships with the natives from a position of power.' With that much explained Bellamy stood up taller and ran a hand through his curly hair anxiously and let out a deep sigh. The brief moment his hair was slicked back Clarke finally recognized the man before her as the tattooed guard she had helped all that time ago. 'Now that that's off the table however... We move to plan B.' Murphy's ever present grin faltered a bit and Vladimir shifted uncomfortably at the mention of this 'Plan B' just as Bellamy settled back down with his knuckles to the table and his eyes hooded darkly. 'The grounder's strength comes from fear. They rule by it and maintain peace through it. Plan B involves using that strength against them to solidify our place in this forest. That being said what I need from you people here is that you keep the civilian population calm and busy until tomorrow morning when we will move out to our new home. I will have Miller standing by for you all and ready to help however you may need it for tonight at least.' With the only reply being stunned silence and slightly quivering upper lips Bellamy waived off the assembled group with a haphazard 'dismissed'.

All bodies present before Bellamy filed out the tent's entrance save for three. Murphy and Vladimir stared at the hold out with confusion until Bellamy himself ordered them out to give the blonde woman an audience. The duo begrudgingly exited the tent and escorted a couple of other holdouts they ran into outside leaving the two in the tent to be truly alone.

A pregnant moment passed as Bellamy felt himself be sized up by the young woman with bloody hands standing before him until finally she spoke.

"What are you people planning on doing?" Clarke asked with her hands on her hips.

"Excuse me?" Bellamy almost hissed in true confusion.

"What do you plan on doing to that village?!" Clarke asked while stamping her finger on the circled X on the map. Bellamy glared down at her finger, almost looking through it before shooting his eyes up to her's and spitting his response.

"I plan on saving lives if that's ok with you my good princess."

"Using 'fear' right? What do you mean by that?!' Clarke demanded. Truth be told she didn't hate the idea of having a real home tomorrow and the thought of some feral mutants being just beyond the tree line made her skin crawl but part of her medical oath was to protect all life and if this man was aiming for the wholesale slaughter of innocents she had to do something about it. 'I somehow doubt you're just going to make a threat and shoot in the air nearby and hope they leave."

Bellamy couldn't hold back the throaty laugh he belched out into the air at Clarke's words. He'd never know that the entire camp froze at the sound of that maniacal yet warm laughter. "I'm sure that's what you'd prefer princess. Get the job done without getting your hands dirty right? Well I've got news for you! This world isn't kind! I've seen children burned to death by acid fog, men eaten serpents in streams, grounders woman bludgeon each other to death over a meal, and freakish mutants get crucified for wandering one click in the wrong direction. This world isn't kind.' Clarke felt a knot grow in her stomach as she watched the scenes play out behind the young soldiers glazed eyes before he stood up and wandered to a large backpack by his sleeping bag and start drawing things out before he went on. 'You know, back in the old world.' Bellamy seemed to shift about a little as he drew out a dull silver tin from his bag. 'Every culture had a monster they'd tell their children about.' He said over his shoulder as he popped the tin open to reveal its contents as a black brown and green clay-like circle divided evenly in three sections. 'In Germany... they had Krampus' Clarke watched from over the captain's shoulder as he dipped his fingers in the tin and began to stroke long lines and over his face with the green. 'Mother Russia had Baba Yega' when his face was covered green black wavy lines were added. 'For Mexico... el Cucuy.' Finally came the brown to mix everything up and empty away the shape of the man's face. 'And Old America, old America had the boogeyman.' Finally the man turned monster rose and faced his body towards the Doctor but rather than meeting her stunned gaze he began looking over the sleek black rifle in his hands. 'These savages don't know to respect monsters' slowly brown eyes rose to lock with blue and after a heavy silence the sound of an M4a1 rifle being racked broke through the fog as loud as a thunderclap. 'I aim to teach them. I will be their Krampus, their Baba Yega, their Cucuy, their boogeyman,or whatever they want to call me... I don't care. What matters is that after tonight, they'll know monsters." With nothing else to say Bellamy left a stunned Clarke motionless in his tent while he rallied his Rangers to go into the moonless night to become monsters.

IV

The sound of a sleeping forest is the occasional creek, creek, creek of a bug; the chir~p, chir~p, chir~p of a few birds; and the gentle hum of wind sweeping between trees and tussling leaves. The nightmares come when all the sounds of nature stop and only the wind is brave enough to move. Guard duty for the young grounder named Lecko meant gazing up at the stars and thinking about the beauty and freedom he could have as a bird. The young grounder with only two marks snag gently under his breathe with thoughts of his day's activities on his mind. Early in the morning he slipped away from his duties to find a beautiful flower he found growing in the woods nearby. This was the only time of year he knew these flowers bloomed and he just had to grab one to win over the heart of his precious Siggy. The beautiful girl with long platinum hair always showed him kindness and on this day he was going to court her and ask that she walk with him in the woods that night. With flower in hand and a fire in heart he asked Siggy and it would seem the commanders of old smiled upon him for she responded with a smile as bright as the sun and ecstatic yes. The two had walked in the forest hand in hand while speaking of anything that came to mind and investigating whatever fell into their path as though they were children until the setting sun gave way to the missing moon. Lecko returned Siggy to her home but not until after she gave him a gift comparable to that of his mother when she gave him life, Siggy blessed him with a soft kiss upon his red lips. Wistfully the boy touched his lips and felt the memories of her warmth tinge through his fingers moments before he felt a warmth running down his chest and covering his mouth.

Murphy grimaced as he slit the sentry's throat. With a tight grip over the grounder's mouth the warrior didn't even have a chance to scream as the black blade of Murphy's Ka-bar slide across his pale throat. John set the corpse down and signaled for those following him to move up and enter the sleeping village. Sticking to the shadows the group moved low and slow through the village minding every corner and doorway as they approached their target. At the center of the village sat a longhouse adorned with various icons and symbols of the people who lived here and, more importantly, was the communal housing of the village's warriors. Every sound on his approach was amplified in Murphy's mind. Every squish of his boot sinking into mud; every breath he released a bit too loud; and every slight rattle from the gun in his arms or the knife on his hip or his pistol on his thigh screamed in the Ranger's ear. All these sounds paled in comparison however to the subtle snap, pop, and thud that sounded in front of him just as a grounder fell face first into the mud before the small cluster of Ranger's from around a corner they were about to pass. With a curse under his breathe John gave a thumbs up to the main guard tower in the camp where a body with a bow was propped up to seem alive next to a prone Monroe behind the scope of a silenced black short barreled Remington 700. The young woman with her braids and her Mohawk grinned while racking her bolt and readying her next shot.

Elsewhere a grounder hobbles down a dock with a mind full of swirls and visions of his naked lover sprawled out on his bed waiting for him. Gregor was no lightweight but with just the right amount of Ale, or the wrong amount, and he'd be stuck making four trips in one night to piss in the lake behind his hilltop village. The curious thing about this night was the strange twinkle he saw out in the water. Drunkenly the grounder leaned out to get a closer look at the strange twinkle while holding up his hair with his left hand and gripping his manhood with his right. The twinkling light in the water danced around for a bit and Gregor could swear he could make out a hand under it when suddenly a hand gripped his mouth and a cold blade was shoved deep into his armpit. The man struggled and waved his outstretched arm while his right arm was clamped down in the grip of his assassin but two hard thrusts of the blade and few twists ended the grounder's struggle. Bellamy Blake eased the corpse off the dock and into the waiting hands of a few of his Rangers poking out of the water. The captain marveled at the efficiency of his Rangers before leading them up the docks and into the village. The occasional snap of silenced rifles could be heard as Monroe fired from her tower and A ranger under Murphy named Kole shot from the opposite shore of the lake and the pair picked off roving guard after roving guard that the ground team didn't dispatch with knives or silenced pistols. Finally the Rangers had the main building surrounded and once in place each signaled up to Monroe who gave the a signal back confirming that everyone was in place. Bellamy let out one last relieving sigh as he weighed the consequences of his upcoming actions on his conscience and his shoulders before glancing about his team. The faces around him showed no fear or remorse and it filled him with pride and reassurance as the soldier gave his next order. With a hand signal to Monroe which she relayed Bellamy tugged the spoon off a can that was handed to him from a satchel carried by one of his Rangers. When Monroe's countdown hit zero a can was tossed through every window of the longhouse and was followed by low pop and growing hiss as clouds of white smoke filled the longhouse. It wasn't long before small fires fought in the long house and screams roared out into the night as the men within were consumed by the smoke. Some ran from the main entrance while others tried to climb out windows, all were quickly cut down by waiting Rangers near the exits.

"Meet my friend Willie Pete savages!" bellowed a ranger named Dax as grounder warriors frantically swiped at growing burns on their skin. At this point the village had awoken and did exactly as Bellamy had predicted, they gathered towards the longhouse to see the commotion. It was at this moment Atom and Murphy's gunner Draco opened fire with their SAWs and belted down heavy burps of fire into the gathered crowd. The few grounder warriors who escaped the longhouse unscathed or simply weren't sleeping their tried to assemble and resist but to little to no avail. Most were cut down in an instant by the machine gun fire while the rest were mopped up by small arms. Bellamy's plan went off without a hitch.

As the sun began to rise the captain sat alone on a stump near the center of the camp while his soldier's cleared out the surrounding buildings and drug any hidden grounders that didn't resist much to the town center. Those that did resist too much were unceremoniously silenced by the sound of not-so-silent gunfire. Bellamy's face was low and though he was only twenty five he appeared much much older with his eyes cast down at the bloodied soil at his feet and a loan bullet casing. The screams of the prior night echoed in his mind. Those screams and shouts of men, of women, and of children haunted his waking thoughts while the survivors were rallied at the town center. In his mind Bellamy repeated the mantra "They aren't human, they aren't human, they aren't human. Humans can't survive on earth. They aren't human, they aren't human. They. Are. Not. Human."

Bellamy was ripped from his thoughts by a hand on his shoulder giving him a slight squeeze. The aged man looked up into the solemn eyes of John Murphy. Painted faces shared a look that neither could describe except as pained yet relieved as each battled with the night's events. The two asked each other a silent question that both could hear despite the lack of words. Bellamy asked 'they aren't human, right?' And Murphy asked 'Did we do the right thing?'. Neither truly had an answer for the other's internal questions but Murphy did give Bellamy one answer he needed to hear verbally.

"Whatever you ask me to do Bell, I'll do it. Ask me to kill, I'll kill. Ask me to run, I'll run. Ask me to die, hell if it's a nice enough day I might.' The Blake brother couldn't help but chuckle at this but John just shrugged. 'Point is boss, I don't care what call you make. I'm with you to the end. Just promise me one thing, you'll always make a call." With that Murphy walked off to talk to some of his Rangers about their progress on clearing the village and how soon can they expect the Rangers they sent back to the camp to return with the civilians.

Left alone Bellamy let Murphy's words soak in while he weighed them in his mind. The promise of always making a call wasn't an easy one to keep especially in the trying times they found themselves in. Sometimes it would certainly just be easier to run away and hide within ones self or in any corner of this uncharted world. In the end though, considering his sister, his friends, and the promise to his mother he keeps on his back Bellamy would have no choice but to keep his promise anyway. The young man took in a deep breath of morning air before rising from his log and marching off to the assembled grounders with the darkest aura following him he could conjure.

"I'm sure at least some of you know what I'm saying and even if you don't I'm know for damn sure you understand what I've shown you. My people and I have been sent from the sky, this is our promised land. We will have it and it will be ours. Any who try and test that will be eaten by the white smoke or torn apart by our bullets. I spare you because I have chosen you to carry the words of what happened here and tell your people that the monsters from the sky are here to stay." Bellamy punctuated his rant with a heavy pause and killed that pause by firing a round into the air with his now unsilenced rifle. The Rangers watched the mob of grounders scatter across the one thousand yard field of open terrain set between the village and the forest before they disappeared under the dark canopy.

"Three hundred and sixty degrees of clean line of sight from the hill." Murphy muttered as he slid into place beside Bellamy.

"A thousand yards all around save for the seven hundred yards to cross the lake at our backs." Monroe added with her rifle in her arms cradled like a baby.

"And enough supplies to turn this village into a fortress." Atom commented as he strolled up carrying arms full of looted grounder swords.

"They really picked a great spot for us, aye Boss?" Murphy asked with a nod and a slight smirk.

Bellamy nodded a few times in response but his mind wasn't really there in that moment. The captain's mind was a week ahead, a month, two whole seasons were being mapped out by his running mind. All that Bellamy Blake could think of now was how many calls he would have to make and how many monsters he would have to lie with before his people could count themselves safe.


End file.
